a walk we take sometimes

We're lucky to have a lovely cycleway to walk along, beginning only minutes from our house.  I walk along it often.  It used to be where the railway would run, many years ago.  One of the main roads in my town runs near to this path.  I always wonder if the people in their cars realise what a lovely walkway there is, just a few hundred metres away.  It is always quiet along the path during the middle of the day, if you get out for a walk while all the kids are still in school.  On this particular day we only saw one cyclist, one runner and one dog.  I feel very lucky to have this beautiful quiet place in the middle of our city.

mini pizza rolls

Make your favourite bread/pizza dough.  Rise etc as usual.  Roll thin.  Spread some with sweet chilli and top with grated cheese.  Spread some more with tomato paste, chopped mushrooms and cheese.  Roll up and cut.  Cook in a hot-ish oven, till melty and golden.
Devour.

girl style friday

Red merino - JK kids

Blue dress - Cotton On kids

 Leggings - Cotton On kids

Shoes - Hoofs

Hairclip - Me!

 I had so much fun making her a few little yoyo hairclips.  I hope to finish off a few more over the weekend and list some sets in my shop.  Happy Weekend everyone!! x

big and little

Mine and hers.  These matching cups make me happy. 

 Made by local potter Russell Harding

Wardrobe Wednesday

Cardi - Glassons 

Pants - Glassons 

Shoes - Overland

Scarf - Me

Necklace - Vanette

Strange pose - all my own

So are you brave enough to join in and post an outfit today!?  Leave your link in the comments so we can all find you! xx

today

I sent a big pile of mail.  It's funny because post shops are closing and stuff, because people do more of their business by email these days.  But I've never sent and received so much fun snail mail since starting this blog.  I'm definitely doing my bit for NZ post.  And I love it!

Today I also made yo-yo biscuits, read stories, walked, fed/clothed/entertained the babe (must stop calling her that she's SUCH a toddler these days) and looked at my new plants.

Just some Polyanthus and some Pansies.  There are also some ranunculus in there too, under the dirt.  They should begin to pop up soon, and will flower in spring.

S is for Sunday

~ S is for Sunshine ~

~ S is for Stitching ~

~ S is for Soup ~

Happy Sunday! x

Shop update!

Yup finally!  After taking a short break for, um, Christmas...I've finally got some stock photographed and back up in my felt shop.  Waaahoooo!  I'm really looking forward to adding to it soon with some goodies from my 'one for me & one for you' project.  xx

Wardrobe Wednesday

Yup, I just said Wardrobe Wednesday!  Though I do love Autumn, I must admit I'd been feeling a little winter blahs sneaking on in.  What better to brighten things up and make me feel better than Wardrobe Wednesday!  Yussssss.   So do you know what I am on about?  You can read more here.  Basically, post a fun/inspiring/original/funky/sassy/feelgood outfit you love on a Wednesday.  Join in here by linking to your post in my comments.  The idea is to feel good, look good and give each other a bit of inspiration (often on a budget!).  I was thinking of starting off again next week...but Miss Toast was out of the gates like a shot, so I thought I'd better get my skates on.  We'd love you to join us!! x  (Don't mind me chopping the top of my head off, I promise to try harder next time)

White top, black top and jean - all from Farmers (ahem)

Shoes - Overland

Yeah, so who knew?  I seem to love Farmers.  The black top is about 5 years old and the white one about the same, so sorry if you were thinking about going to get them.  Jeans were this year though.  And my lovely shoes, only slightly scuffed since taking a wee tumble in the rain last week (with babe in arms! - she's okay though!)

best chocolate cookies

The other day I was looking for a new recipe to take somewhere for dessert.  I didn't have much time, or many exciting ingredients, but I wanted something nice.  This recipe turned out awesome.  The cookies were just what I was after, very chocolate-y and slightly chewy, reminiscent of a brownie.  Make sure to follow the directions for oven temperature (160) and I took mine out when the tops of the cookies had cracked all over, but they hadn't darkened in colour at all.  These are one of those recipes I'm not going to be able to make often, because I'll just eat them all.  Oh, and also, I replaced the chocolate chips with 3/4 of a cup of chocolate off a block, chopped up into bits.  Next time I think I might add a little coffee too...mmmmm.

As an aside, I've been thinking about reviving Wardrobe Wednesdays for a while.  Would anyone else be keen?  I feel like I need a bit of a kick in the pants with my wardrobe lately.  If only it was as easy as this!

Give them the good stuff

When you can afford to I think it is awesome to let your kiddo's play with good quality art supplies.  They just work so much more nicely than el cheapo stuff.  I got these canvases from Paper Plus at 60% off.  Awesome.

This particular painting descended into finger painting and turned into a brown blob (see it on her play table in yesterdays post).  I think if I'd stopped her when I'd taken these photos and given her another canvas to work on I'd put this painting up on the wall!  I can imagine a whole cluster of them in the hallway or something...and a great gift for the grandparents too.

On toys.

I'm writing this post in response to Stella's post about her 'Toy Philosophy'.  Sarah has been on this topic too lately.  In our house, we've got a mix of toys...but they do have one thing in common, pretty much none of them have been bought by me!!  My girl has been very lucky to have been given a lot of gifts by a lot of generous friends and family members.  We have an abundance of toys, so much so, that this huge array is only about half of them, the other half are in the wardrobe, and we rotate them.

I must say, like Stella, I lean towards toys that are handmade or thrifted, and I love wooden toys.  The current favourites are the stacking circles, her puppy dog hot water bottle cover, play dough, and her bike/car - particularly for taking the teddy's for a ride. 

Of course you can never go past the things that aren't even 'toys' as well.  Kitchen utensils, pots, pans, wool, leaves, the watering can, the mop, the vacuum cleaner...these are all firm favourites too.  She also has a tonne of books, which we keep in the story corner.  I need a huge toy box to keep it all in...it does drive me a little crazy sometimes having to pick all the same stuff up night after night.   She'll pack up after herself one day right?

studio time

Today I spent time in my sewing room.  In daylight hours.  Alone.  For about two hours.  It was looooovely.

I worked on a new project.  A late mother's day gift for my mum.  It's going to be a new knitting bag for her.

My first attempt at string piecing.  I may have found a new craft addiction...

thursday

And just like that, nearly a week has slipped by.  A week of rain, indoor activities, and a mama slowly going mad.  Thank goodness for sunshine today.  And a husband who has returned after being out of town for work.

Oh yes, there is more where that came from

It's not even winter proper and I feel like I'm getting a bit of the mid-winter blahs already!  Not a good sign!  Just that sluggish lazy feeling...not helped by being cooped up in the house due to all this rain.  The cozy factor has definitely passed for me...I need to get outside.

Yes, another milo.  No, not for me.

But the solution is fairly easy.  Get back into that better routine.   That one that you seem to stick with for months, and then for whatever reason it slides away, and you have to do the hard work to get back to where you were.  More exercise.  Less caffeine.  More veges.  More sleep.  Less TV.   Simple really.

sunshine!

And after a few days of pushing yourself through, it gets easier.  And you feel better.  To get through the real days of winter to come.

music

How long is it since I posted some music?
Too damn long.  (Actually 6 months!)



Yes that is the girl from Pomplamoose.  I posted about them here too.

girl style friday

White top  -  Warehouse

Tunic/Dress  -  My mum

Jeggings (I hate that word)  -  Farmers

Gumboots  -  Bunnings

Random things: 

It's still grey.  Had a great night at craft last night.  Laughed A LOT.  And managed to do a bit of crafting! 

Looking forward to the weekend.  But I have to work on Sunday - mothers day!  Only for a few hours.  

Going to bake something yummy and take it to my mum.  

Lots of half done projects on the go.  Nothing finished. 

I would like your movie/tv series recommendations for winter nights (has to be something that the hub will watch too.)  Last winter we watched The Wire.

I wear goggles (like swimming goggles) when I cut onions.  I look crazy but it is very effective.

Must go make more coffee and hang out washing.  Inside.  Great.

Have a good weekend! x

Grey

 It's grey here today.  Again.  Though I do love Autumn for it's mild temperatures, offering fantastic opportunities for wearing tights and boots, I could do without the rain for days on end. 

It's a day for being inside.  Slowly preparing vegetarian shepard's pie for dinner.  Knitting.  A little hand sewing.  A lot of tea.  Stories, blankets, milo.  Maybe a bit of baking.  A walk down the road to visit the goats and a swing if the rain breaks for a while.  A visit from cousins.

Perhaps a grey day isn't so bad after all.

I've had an idea...

It's been brewing away in my mind for a while now.  I really want to get my long neglected felt shop back open.  But I have really been enjoying making things for my family and friends, without any pressure to make things to sell.  So I think I've come across a way to combine the two. 
I have a short attention span.  I get really into a craft, and go hard at it for a week or two, and then I'm over it.  I move on.  You may have noticed this from reading here.  So my new idea is 'one for me & one for you'.  From now on, when I'm making something for myself, a friend or family member, I'm going to make two.  The extra will go in the shop.  A lot of the time it is nearly as easy to make two of something as it is to make one, so I think this will work well.  It also allows for my primary focus to be on personal crafting, with the shop as a secondary concern.  So there you go!  Expect to see a random selection of goodies in my shop this year!  I hope you'll enjoy this wee project as much as I do xo

Completely unrelated photo of our rainy day activities

Mini milo and a list

I whipped up this mini-milo over the weekend.  No, it's not for me.
Here's my 'to-do' list for the next wee while.  Just to share, you know...
  ~ double batch of vegetarian Shepard's pie, one for dinner one to freeze.
  ~ same with leek and potato soup
  ~ make/buy mother's day gifts
  ~ make gifts for two more pregnant friends (lots of babies in the making round here! not me!)
  ~ finalise all my stuff to enrol in my library papers
  ~ craft night!
  ~ re-arrange my daughter's room, it's looking too baby-ish for an 18month old (when did that happen!!?)
  ~ make/buy birthday gifts for 3 family birthdays this month

And in case you need some ideas, here's our meal plan for the week.
Vegetarian Shepard's Pie,  Chicken Noodle Soup, Vege Lasagna, Smoked Fish Pie, Lentil Loaf and Stir fry.  Snacks : Muesli bars and Banana+Feijoa Muffins made yesterday. 

Do you have a list for the day/week?  Or a dinner idea to share? xo